PIRIN MOUNTAINS (CENTRE-BASED TOUR)

/The order of the walks from Bansko can be changed for logistical reasons./

Day 1: Sofia – Bansko
We meet you at Sofia Airport and transfer you to Bansko where you will spend the next four nights (transfer time is appr. 2,30hrs). Each day you will have transfers to the beginning of the trailhead and back later in the afternoon. During the holiday you will be able to explore two different parts of the Pirin Mountains: the Karst regions around Mt. Vihren, comprising mighty cliffs and steep slopes (and housing the century-old spruce forest of the Yulen Reserve) and the more green areas around Mt. Polezhan and Mt. Bezbog (where you could find also numerous glacial lakes).
Days 2-4: (final details with the order of the walks from Bansko will be available inside your tour program, which will be emailed to you prior to your arrival in Bulgaria)
Walk A: Bansko – Vihren Hut – Banderishki Lakes Cirque – Demyanitsa River – Bansko (6-7hrs; 16km; +615m/-1215m)
Pre-arranged transfer brings you up to the Vihren Hut (appr. 30min) where you set off on a hiking trek through the pretty Cirque of the Banderishki Lakes. From there, you go across into the neighbouring valley and the Todorini Ochi Lakes and thence through the thick spruce forests of the Yulen Nature Reserve on to the valley of the playful Demyanitsa River. Stunning sceneries will be expecting you behind every corner.
Easier and shorter version is also available for that day in case of bad weather conditions or if you don’t feel confident enough for the original route above. Loop walk among the lakes in the Bunderishki Lake Cirque will take you to some of them, where you can have rest on their shores and enjoy the serenity of the rocky outcrops around you.
Walk B: Bansko – Mount Polezhan – Bansko (5hrs; 7km; +770m/-770m)
Today, you visit one of the Pirin’s greenest parts near the Bezbog Hut (transfer time each way: 30min). The car will drop you off at Gotse Delchev hut, from where you need to board the chairlift to Bezbog hut. This is the setting-off point for an extraordinarily panoramic walking trek to the Polezhan summit (2851m). The summit offers perhaps the most wonderful view in the Pirin, with no fewer than 17 lakes visible, including the largest and deepest glacier lake in the mountain: the Popovo Lake. Additional options to extend the trek include a climb to the nearby Bezbog Summit, or a walk to Popovo Lake itself.
Walk C: Bansko – Vihren Hut – Mount Vihren – Vihren Hut – Bansko (6-7hrs; 8km; +960m/-960m)
Time to attempt the Pirin’s premier summit, Vihren (transfer time each way: appr. 30min). You trek through the Golem Kazan (The Giant Cauldron) area beneath the breathtaking sheer 400m northern wall of Vihren, whose dolomite precipices offer shelter to rare edelweiss flowers and fretful herds of Balkan Chamois (wild goats). The views are genuinely overwhelming, yet they are just the prelude to the panoramas that open up from the summit over a sea of jagged peaks all around. On the way back to Bansko you can stop for a short visit to the oldest Bulgarian tree – the Baikushev’s Pine Tree (more than 1300 years old, situated just above the road – ask the driver to stop for a while).
Day 5: Bansko – Sofia
Transfer from Bansko to Sofia Airport in connection with your flight (appr. 2,30hrs).

Rila Monastery (UNESCO) extension:Depending on your flight times on the way to Bansko on Day 1 or on the way to Sofia on Day 5 you can make a detour to visit Rila Monastery (UNESCO). This detour will take appr. 2,30-3hrs (incl. 1-1,30hrs free time to explore the monastery and its museum on your own; no guiding and entry fees included) and will cost 60 EUR (group of 1-3 pers.), or 95 EUR (group of 4-8 pers.). Please let us know at the time of booking so this extra can be added to your reservation on time.

Hiking time: hiking time only is mentioned on each day (not including stops for pictures, picnics, breaks etc.); these are based on an average hiker’s speed of 4-5km/hr on flat terrain, additional 30min for each 300m elevation gain, and a backpack weighing not more than 10-15% of your body weight. Still this varies a lot on the terrain and hiking experience of each client.